Guidance on Trip to Italy in June. Family of 6. Adult, teen & young
 

Hello!
We are traveling from Seattle 6/14. Layover in Dublin to adjust. Arriving in Venice 6/17. Departing Naples 7/2. Family of 6. Kids are 22, 20,16 & 8.
First time to Europe. Have traveled a lot in US, internationally to Central America & Mexico.

I have a lot of notes, but would love more tips & suggestions. We would like to tackle a well rounded amount of exploring- but not too focused on museums/art. We have a range of interests to please-nature lovers, shoppers, interesting history seekers, surfer guy, adventure seekers.. We want to see and expose more history/art interests but not main focus. Older 3 kids are interested in experiencing a night club scene together somewhere.
Eldest wants to explore Siena (she is named Sienna)
Don’t want to Jam Pack too many experiences in and have them exhausted & whining - but we want to maximize our time and make great happy memories!
Need to also engage the youngest!!
This is the rough Itinerary & ideas that I’ve noted from other threads I’ve read.
Any advice on areas I may need to rent a vehicle vs train or bus?
Suggestions for activities in the locations mentioned or enroute?
Hotel/AirBnb recommendations?
Suggested amount of days in these areas?
anuthubg else I’m missing?
thanks so much for any advice!!

Seattle depart 6/14
arrive Dublin 6/15 -Depart 6/17
Venice arrive 17th am check out 19th
gondola?

Head down toward Florence area, maybe stay in Bologna/Modena. Explore “motor valley” (tours there?) pasta making class?
would like to visit Pisa
what else in this area? Where’s the best place to be centrally located here for a few days?

Next area is Siena.
My daughter Sienna (22) has mentioned interest in the market on Wed, Torre Del Mangia bell tower, Cathedral De Siena, and requested winery visits. Suggestions here? Should we rent a place with a pool?

Next making our way to Rome for a few days

Lastly toward Amalfi Coast region, although I’ve read more favor Sorrento (?) I’d like to visit Pompeii. I read a suggestion about 4WD tour on Mt Vesuvius, or private boat to Capri. like to end with some relaxing beach time.

Thank you again!

Many cities have ZTL with significant vehicle restrictions especially non-local

Trains are cheap and go city centre to city centre.

Seat61.com
Trenitalia are your friends

Yes rent with a pool, but you can often rent houses in camping hillsides, so pool with added local friends.

Italy makes wine everywhere so choose a place then look for winery.

You have a wild wish list here. There is ancient stuff everywhere. I'd focus on the Po valley, Ravenna, Modena, Bologna, Firenze, Siena as a start.

Get that sorted with the family then either Rome or Naples if you have time. Right now I don't think you do have.

Save car rental for a Tuscany drive, train will be easier for everything else.

Pool, very important. You will find it possible to rent a house in a country area with other houses and a pool. Agriturismo is a good thing to search as well as Airbnb.

Welcome! This seems like it is going to be awfully rushed to me. The distance from Venice to Amalfi is a great deal for roughly two weeks.

I'm afraid I cannot give lodging recs as I travel solo and use trains.

Keep in mind that transit and checking out of lodging eats into your sightseeing budget, even if you drive.

The basic rule of thumb is 4 nights in a place will give you 3 full days of sightseeing, 3 nights is 2 days etc. Some cities like Rome really need a good 4-5 nights to see all that is available: one day for Vatican Museums (if of interest) with Sistine and St. Peters, one day for ancient Rome, and one day for rest of Rome. Again, interest dependant.

One thing you might consider is doing Siena from Florence as a day trip. Or, If art is not really your focus, maybe skip Florence as it is very heavy on Renaissance art. Maybe spend that time in Siena instead, day trip to Florence if necessary.

You can conceivably base your time in Sorrento for the south. Is Pompeii on your list? If so, plan on at least 5 nights here as well. One for your day trip to Positano (use the ferries! - driving not advisable), one day for your Vesuvius 4WD, one day for Pompeii, one day for Capri. If no Pompeii, you could cut out one day but it is a location worth seeing if of interest.

I know you will not have jet lag, but depending on your interests, Venice IMHO deserves at least 2 full days, more is better to see the surrounding islands. So many folks just give it one crowded day. YMMV

Obviously we all have our interests and goals. Just trying to highlight how long things may take.

Pre book major sites like Vatican Museums, Colosseum in Rome, Uffici & Academia in Florence, St. Marks and Doges Palace in Venice if any of those are of interest. Saves time on line standing.

Not to pile on, but I agree that your ambitions exceed what is realistically possible.

I suggest that you plot your ideas on a calendar, taking note of how long it will take to get from place to place (you can use rome2rio.com to get an idea), making sure you block out time for packing / unpacking, finding your lodging, checking in / out, meals, etc. Think about the proportion of time you are willing to spend going from place to place vs. actually experiencing places.

Then get a good guidebook or two and identify the options at each possible stop; that will help you decide which areas to include. Fair warning: There will ALWAYS be more to see than you can manage in a single trip! Tough decisions will be necessary.

I agree that this is a rushed trip for the number of days that you have, especially for a group of 6. Though, as pointed out, plan your trip based on the number of nights you have at each location, not days; it will give you a more accurate feel for the time that you have. And I also vote for the approach of taking a calendar and plot out days, nights, locations. Though if you take your number of nights after Dublin (16) and divide it by the locations you mentioned (grouping Florence/Bologna/Modena as one), that's 5, and you have 3 nights per location. Using a rule of thumb that each location change eats up about half a day, then you have 2.5 days/nights per location - that's not much, given the wonderful places you have in mind.

Have each person choose their No 1 desire from the trip, and try to include that.

Tuscany is the most obvious place to rent a car, and there are some beautiful drives, but with a group of 6 plus luggage, you will have to get a very generous-sized vehicle. Renting a place with a pool is good, I guess, but with your list of things that you all want to do, will you have time to relax by a pool? Also, places with pools tend to be outside of towns, so you will be driving more.

I love Bologna and Modena, they are medium-sized less-touristy cities that are easy to walk around in. Especially if your group is ok with missing out on Florence's Renaissance art, either would be a good option for your group. Bologna has a university and a lively student group, so that may be more appealing to your young adults.

Siena is great, too, and you could get here by train (though the train station is a bit outside of town, so you might have to take a couple of taxis to your lodging). Make sure you plan time for drinks in the Campo. It's a happening place for the students there on weekend evenings! But also could be done as a day trip.

We visited Pompeii years ago, because it was on my "must-see" list, and it was very special. But it was a bit of a hassle to get to, and required a bit of a time commitment.

Enjoy your planning, and your trip!

Since it's 1st time to Italy, here's my suggestion for itinerary based on your flights/interests: Like you, we prefer activity over art
Arrive Venice: Stay 3 nights (IMO, long enough for a taste of Venice) MUST: Take a water taxi into Venice from the airport (classic experience!) Walk the city, guided tour of Doge's Palace, MAYBE: Murano, but you can see glass-blowing in Venice proper.
Day 4: Train to Florence. Stay 3 nights. MUST: Pre-book time to climb the dome of the Duomo (kids will love). Guided daytrip to Siena (these can include winery). Timed-Entrance to Accademia to see The David MAYBE: Good Vespa tours out of Florence
Day 7: Train to Pisa. Stay 2 nights I'm not a Pisa fan, but on lots of people's list. MUST: train to Cinque Terre and hike the length of the trail between villages (will be a GREAT day for the family). Get lodging with a pool and have a down afternoon
Day 9: Train to Rome: Stay 4 nights. MUST: Guided tour of Colosseum that includes underground and the Forum. Vatican-1st tour of the morning or the crowd is miserable. E-bike tour of Appian Way w/ catacombs visit. Campo di Fiori for nightlife for kids
Day 13: Train to Naples/Sorrento: MUST: Hire your guide for day down the Amalfi Coast - with 6 it makes sense. Short train ride to Pompeii for guided tour. Sorrento Cooking class: Pasta/Tiramisu MAYBE: Ferry to Capri for a day or water tour with swimming
Day 14: Hire a car to take you straight to the airport

Without knowing your budget, I won't make lodging recs. Family suite at the Hilton Sorrento Palace is awesome if you can swing it!

Skip the layover in Dublin. Although I understand the desire to "recover" (we fly from LAX), if the focus of the trip is Italy, you can't afford to lose any time. You have nearly as many destinations and/or particular sights as you have days on the ground.

There are two ways to think about how much time you need in a place... You can decide on X number of full days and see what you can see in that time, or you can make a list of what you most want to see and decide how many days that will require. You're having to balance a lot of wishes/wants, so only you can figure out which approach is better for your group. It doesn't sound like museums and art galleries are a high priority, but lots of other things are not open every day and many (most these days) either require entry reservations or reservations are very highly recommended. Someone has already mentioned that you generally "lose" a half day when you move from one city/hotel to the next, but you should also look at the train timetables to understand the journey times, options for time of departure, etc. For the very limited things you want to see/do in Tuscany, I wouldn't rent a car. The logistics and learning curve would just add to an already packed itinerary. Although it's my favorite Italian city, I'd skip Florence altogether... although it does provide very easy access by train to Pisa and Bologna/Modena depending on how the final plan shakes out.

Train timetables here... use Italian spellings of city names (Venezia, Firenze, Roma, Napoli):

https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html

Consider having the group split up and go different ways on a couple of days. For example, unless the 8 y.o. is interested in exotic cars, plan a day that enables the car enthusiasts to hit one or two of the car museums while others do something else. Ditto perhaps the winery tour and the pizza making class. Also as you plan, be aware that everything takes longer when you're traveling in a group. The 8 y.o. might dictate the pace, but there will be distractions all along the way, meals in restaurants will take longer, etc.

Prioritize what's already on the list and perhaps accept that you can't do it all. I would resist the urge to add other destinations, no matter how wonderful they sound and how close they might be. (alandavid's suggested itinerary is good but omits the exotic car day and doesn't account for the time needed in Siena.) Looking at your list for just the Amalfi Coast area, I'd want 5 nights/4 full days but dropping Vesuvius would help.

A few things beyond those suggested above: I agree that there is too much place changing overhead vs. doing things time.

You have a big enough group to make doing one thing with everybody may be a bit of a logistical drag. Consider breaking into two or even three groups at some stops, making it easier to cater to the inevitable needs of your youngest and varied interests of individuals in your group.

I agree that including Dublin will waste too much time. Yes, your first day in Italy will be a jetlag blur, but it could be spent wandering around Rome, for instance, eating gelato (one of the cures for jetlag ;)).

My trip report for Rome and the Sorrento area is a dozen years out of date for the fine details, and its links are dead, but it gives an idea of how to spend time in part of Italy: https://www.fodors.com/community/sho...d.php?t=939467

Don't worry about trying to do everything. Everyone returns to Italy.

CT in July, probably not the best idea

I agree with others that you’re trying to cram too much to be able to enjoy it all. I’ve got a bone to pick with your layover in Dublin to “decompress”, which is totally unnecessary and will take much needed time from your vacation. I did a cursory search on skyscanner, the only search engine I use for vacations, and found flights going to from Seattle Tacoma to Venice Marco Polo with a layover in Zurich for about 2 hours which is plenty of time to transfer. The flight to Zurich is 10 hours, approximately which will give you time to relax and sleep. Honestly, though, I’d cut CT from your planned trip because CT anytime from April-November is jam packed with people. The shoulder season there has been pushed back so now it’s only 3 months or less. Keep to Florence/Tuscany and central area. I reread your post and didn’t even see the part about Rome. That is A LOT to pack in considering you’re traveling with 2 young adults and two children. I’d even skip Rome and just do Vesuvius and Pompeii, if you’re so inclined. I’d not even rent a car in Tuscany since with 6 people you’d need a minivan or larger SUV as smaller SUV’s in Italy tend to be for 5 people including the driver.

elissamoore, I hope we haven't scared you off. We're trying to help... Honest!

Thank you all so much for the advice so far.
I have notes upon notes!! I welcome all the ideas and will update soon

Yet that what a lot of posters seem to do regularly instead of answering the questions.
The OP stated what their flights were and WHEN they were traveling, yet the advice is "don't fly thru there" or "don't go THEN"

It may be your only chance to visit Italy, so don't skip Rome. Your pace is fast, but not crazy. Shoot for staying multiple nights in 1 location, not all city-centered, & allow for some downtime with no scheduled activity.
Prioritize the sites on your MUST SEE list & accept it may be busy/crowded.

There's great advice here, but take it for that, advice, not mandates. You know your family best and 1st-time-to-Italy travel has much different priorities than those who've been there a dozen times.
You will love it!

I must add that car rental prices in Italy since the pandemic are through the roof because many car rental companies their inventory for lack of renters and now the country has a shortage of rental cars. In 2022 when we went to Puglia, where I rented a Fiat 500, it ended up costing me €1500 in total for 10 days which is more than quadruple what we paid for the same exact amount of time in Sicilia in 2018. Take that with a grain of salt, if you must since it’s my own experience but the lack of rental cars is true.

Check AutoEurope if you're renting a car. We picked up our Fiat 500 in Pescara in October 2024 and returned it in Fiumicino. AE was having a special, so one week with zero deductible damage waiver and one-way drop-off fee was $392. I was delighted.

Flights can be changed. It would be nice if posters asked for comments about an itinerary before flights were booked, esp. for a first-time trip to Europe, but that doesn't always happen. It doesn't mean the suggestions aren't valid.

As always, the OP can take the advice or not. It's their trip.

I understand that answering the question asked is what you do at school. I hope we have got beyond that and now offer advice. I know I do.

“Yet that what a lot of posters seem to do regularly instead of answering the questions.
The OP stated what their flights were and WHEN they were traveling, yet the advice is "don't fly thru there" or "don't go THEN"


Oyveyismir, NOBODY is saying “change your flights” or “don’t go then”. That’s an asinine comment. We’re giving advice. Nobody’s saying “do this or else you’ll have issues”. Also, trying to subtly attack and demean other commenters such as myself goes against the guidelines. Nowhere did the OP state “we already purchased tickets. We’re giving advice. You want us to answer questions then hold a Q&A. Sheesh.

This is more a DIY site, but check out Tauck Bridges and Adventures By Disney. They do a nice job of multi-generation travel in Italy & you can see their itineraries, and borrow some of their ideas for yourself.

You asked about the gondolas in Venice:
No need to book ahead, they have a set price (slightly higher at night) and last time I was there it was 80 euros (cash). Price is not per person, just flat fee. 5 people is usually the max, so will need to get 2.
Many boarding sites around Venice. You just get in line and pay as you board. We have joined up with the couple behind us in line and shared in the past too.
Usually a round-trip ride unless you've set it up ahead.

Update & Tour question
 

Lots of great advice! Thank you. I have narrowed down and rearranged some of our plans. Now onto some of the events in locations.. I have a few more questions and would love advice..

Colosseum Tickets in Rome- I’m tempted by the Arena floor option as one of the tour options- what’s the scoop with the underground tour? Suggestions?
Beat to book with Viator?

Pisa- I have looked on the site to purchase tickets (June) site only has up to March dates available. How does rhe release of tickets work? I seem to be able to purchase tickets through a tour- much more expensive, but dates are available. To tour and walk up Pisa tower doesn’t seem like a tour is much needed to me for the cost difference- opinions?

Capri? Or Boat tour? While staying in Amalfi, should we ferry to Capri for the day or board a private boat?
If doing a boat tour- what suggestions do you have?

As for dinners/restaurants- I have read to make reservations, how far in advance are they needed? Family of 6. Any suggestions in the above areas?


Thank you so much!!

You can take a gondola straight across a canal for about 1 Euro, no need to sit down.

Getting to Venice from Marco Polo Airport. [Make sure you have seats on the right/starboard side of the aircraft, for a view of Venice as you fly into Marco Polo.]



A paper map of Venice is the best three euro you will ever spend. Sure, people say that getting lost in Venice is fun. Getting lost, hauling your luggage and not being able to find your hotel is nobody’s idea of fun. Buy that map at the Tabac or bookshop at Marco Polo.



Do take a look at your hotel website – there may be info there. Otherwise,

Water taxi will get you close, maybe to, the door of your hotel. Can carry about ten people, will cost about €140 for the boat. No need to book, taxis are waiting at the Marco Polo dock.



Shared water taxi. Minimum of two people. Book in advance, wait at the desk in the terminal for the others sharing the taxi. Costs about €30 per person. Google “shared water taxi Venice”, use the venicelink dot com web site. Will get you to a vaporetto stop near your hotel.



Alilaguna ferry, as per below.



Bus to Piazale Roma, then walk to your hotel, or take vaporetto to the nearest stop. Buses leave from the outside the terminal, tickets at the machine.



Water transport in Venice.

Gondolas. Only for pleasure, not for transport. 90 euro for half an hour for the boat, more for evenings.

Traghetto – big gondolas, two oarsmen, about ten passengers, for crossing the Grand Canal. Found at Rialto, San Toma and a couple of other places. Cost 2 euro per trip, can save a heap of walking.

Water taxis, which are like a floating limo, costs to match.

Vaporettos - ACTV. Are like a floating bus, operate on a bunch of routes. Get the app Chebateo for routes and schedules. Vaps do not service the airport. Vaps are not water taxis.

Alilaguna ferries, service the airport, run from Marco Polo via a bunch of stops to the main part of Venice, Murano and Lido. They stop at some, but by no means all, vaporetto stops.

Peter, we arrive in Venice this coming Wednesday afternoon. I was considering the shared water taxi but wasn’t sure how long we’d have to wait at the desk. Would we have to wait for someone going to the same stop we want (Zaterre)? Do you know how many people they generally put on a shared boat? Thanks for your help.

Thank you!

In our experience, three trips. Had to wait at the desk for maybe five or ten minutes. I think the maximum number of people on the boat in our experience was half a dozen.

When you go to Rome, consider staying in the Trastevere neighborhood - it's beautiful, has tons of great restaurants, super lively, and really fun for people your kids' age. Make sure to go to Piazza Trilussa for street dancing in the night - it's like an impromptu dance party. Or if you don't stay in that neighborhood, consider at least checking it out for the nightlife.

Thanks Peter!

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Many cities, and even small towns have ZTLs ( limited traffic zones). With small towns, you are often best advised to park in a lot outside the centre and walk in. In cities, you should do some advance research.

If someone lives inside a ZTL, they normally are allowed to enter the zone. If you're staying in a hotel inside the zone, you can ask the hotel to register your vehicle with the police, which would allow you to drop off passengers and luggage, before parking the car outside the zone. You should check with the hotel, because sometimes you have to take a particular route to reach the hotel.

​​​​​​​I don't think any city with a ZTL has a blanket exemption for local residents, though. It's usually the local residents who are creating the major traffic problems.

From the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
United States of America: Official passport holders are required to have visa to enter Türkiye. Ordinary passport holders are exempted from visa up to 90 days in any 180-day period.

Why is Turkey being discussed here in the last two responses? Or visas? The OP is going to Italy and did not ask about visas.